by Teresa Grant
As they passed slowly over Argra’s small island, she thought again of the powerful Wizard and all that he had taught her. She missed him dearly and wished he were still around to help with this new threat. Speeding up as they passed Neglavale’s boarders, Elise held on for all she was worth while trying to will her stomach to calm itself.
Something she ate this morning must not be agreeing with her.
Darion craned his head back to look at Elise and noticed all the blood had drained from her face, something was wrong!
“Elise! What is it? Should we land?”
Drake was coming up close behind, he too had noticed something was not right.
Oh god, please don’t let me vomit, she thought pleadingly. Not only was she acting like a child and crying, but her stomach would not hold down the enormous breakfast she had shared with Rylan that morning.
“Dive, Darion Dive! Get me to the ground!”
Breaking into a death-defying dive, Darion barely pulled up in time to land on one of the many islands that peppered the body of water surrounding their lands. Elise vaulted from his back and ran to the nearest bushes.
“Well this is certainly not the most heroic of beginnings,” Fynlaylyn assured them, as Drake landed beside Darion. As Elise emerged from the bushes some moments later, he added. “Let’s hope this is not a prelude to the rest of the journey?”
“Something I ate did not agree with me, that’s all. I’m fine now,” Elise growled, not at all in the mood to be teased. “We can continue.”
This was not a good beginning at all!
Darion eyed her suspiciously, as did Drake. “Are you sure you are up to this Elise?” Darion asked.
Fynlaylyn broke in harshly. “She has no choice in the matter. Whatever the circumstances, we must go on. We have run out of time!”
This sounded odd coming from Fynlaylyn. Elise never remembered him being this agitated. She was only now coming to the full realization of the magnitude of the situation. The Elf was saying and doing things altogether out of character. It must be even worse than he was letting on, for him to be this hasty.
Taking a deep breath, Elise hauled herself up onto Darion’s back and called, “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get this over with!”
Fynlaylyn muttered to himself from Drake’s back, “Branadon old friend, I wish you were here. This is ringing too close to that journey we shared so many years before on our first attempt to follow the prophecy.”
Branadon was still off searching for Lord Slater after he had escaped from Neglavale. The Elf wished him all speed to return.
Fynlaylyn felt horrible forcing Elise to come at such an inappropriate time, but he simply had no other choice. He could tell that Drake too was guessing at the reasons behind her sudden illness. Darion seemed oblivious, and the Elf was not about to add to their worries by bringing up the pregnancy that Elise herself had yet to realize.
If they didn’t act now, there might not be a later for them to wait for. Fate must truly be a prankster, to always throw so many extra twists into an already complicated situation.
Despite the danger Drake knew they were flying towards; he could not help but feel the exhilaration of flying off to save the world. He did not know what this Elf, Fynlaylyn, had in mind for Elise and Darion, but come hell or high water, he would be there to help see it through. Nothing could have kept him back. If the Elf had tried to take them away without him, this war he was talking about would have begun right there on that rooftop.
He knew as soon as Rylan explained the situation to him that one of them would have to stay behind. Only the slightest inkling of guilt crossed the Dragon’s mind as he thought smugly about the fact that he had wings… and Rylan did not.
The third night out they spent in the comforts of Arilonia, Elise’s home kingdom. They were greeted by its regents, Mickael and Dryfus, the only two Shifters who had chosen not to be Divided because of their partially permanent shift. They were born together as a half man/half dragon creature, instead of sharing time and space like the rest of the Shifters had. Having finally learned how to fly, they offered to go along too. Fynlaylyn insisted that no one in Arilonia, but Mickael and Dryfus, be told of their mission. Since they too might be needed to supply an army, they were refused and asked to prepare for war as well.
As the sun rose the next morning, the cook was summoned to provide a quick and filling breakfast for the departing company. Mickael and Dryfus became alarmed when their usually boisterous Queen, suddenly went a pale shade of green, at the sight of some undercooked eggs, and quickly left the room.
Darion, still being in the dark, and better off being there, piped up for her in answer, “It’s nothing at all gentlemen, she seems to have a touch of the stomach flu. She’ll be as right as rain by lunch time.”
Mickael opened his mouth to share his educated opinion and was rewarded with a quick flick of Drakes tail beneath the table, silencing his unwanted advice.
“We really must be off,” Fynlaylyn said, as he rose to lead the travelers out of the room.
If Darion thought it strange that Mickael and Dryfus had tears in their eyes as they hugged Elise goodbye, he never mentioned it. He assumed they were only concerned with her safety.
A few nights later they spent the night just outside the very same town where Elise was conceived. Fynlaylyn did not point this out, as he did not want another one of Elise’s badgering requests to know more about her father. Allen had chosen to abandon her and go to Angelica immediately after Elise’s mother’s death. Fynlaylyn still resented the man and felt he did not deserve to be known by his daughter. The Elf was in a pensive mood, recalling all that went on the last time he was in this neighborhood, and was unusually silent at dinner as they roasted rabbit over the fire.
The journey back to where he left the armies in the South, was turning out to be quicker than expected.
Dragons were amazing beasts. He found them as intelligent as his… Well, as intelligent as the humans anyway.
This Drake he was riding was a hardened warrior. Fynlaylyn could sense his eagerness for battle. He assumed that this was probably one of the reasons that kept his people away from the Dragons. The Elves were a peace-loving species, only taking up arms in grave need, and the Dragons were capable of violence at the least provocation.
They stopped and made camp for the night, but sometime near dawn, Fynlaylyn was awakened by Darion snuffling the air and calling his name quietly, “Fynlaylyn, something’s coming. I’ve never smelt the likes of it before… and listen…”
Fynlaylyn came completely alert at that. Those piranha-bats must have settled in the area, and by the sounds of it, they’d been breeding... Being nowhere near a river or a pond, Fynlaylyn quickly told them what was coming and before he could come up with a plan, he was enveloped in a leather cocoon.
Drake had seized him in his claws and tucked him beneath his wing leaving not even a small opening for air.
What happened next, he could only imagine, since he was blinded by the folds and assumed Elise to be in the same predicament.
Here he was worrying about the Dragon’s wellbeing, when if the commotion coming from outside were any hint, these creatures were proving to be very resourceful traveling companions. Fynlaylyn only hoped the massacre would be over before he and Elise suffocated to death.
When Drake’s wing finally opened and Fynlaylyn fell gasping for breath to the ground, the smell that assaulted his nostrils was nauseating. Everywhere were thousands of small burnt nuggets and half singed bats limply crawling around on the ground. He could not summon up an ounce of pity for the small dying animals.
Fynlaylyn was about to ask if Elise was alright when he caught the telltale sounds of her retching, coming from behind a nearby smoldering bush.
Darion sidled over to the Elf and Drake, and said quietly, “I never knew Elise had such a weak stomach,” as he lifted his wing to show evidence of her rebellious insides.
They could not chance waiting
for first light, so, cautiously they walked until it was light enough to fly, keeping eyes and ears open for any missed assailants.
By Fynlaylyn’s calculations, they should reach the stronghold before the next nightfall.
With the Dragons, they were making extraordinary time. He could not wait to see the look on Faradon and the rest’s faces, when he showed up with the Queen and her friends. He had not been overly pleased with the jesting they had done, as he had left them.
At noon they landed near a small blue lake. Elise’s morning ritual of heaving up her breakfast, made skipping lunch impossible. She needed to keep up her strength. While Darion went off to scout the area, Fynlaylyn took his bow and went into the woods to see if he could catch Elise something fresh and tender to tempt her taste buds.
What he found was neither fresh nor tender, but something that would boost her spirits tremendously.
Elise boiled water and talked quietly with Drake as she tended the fire. “I can’t tell Darion; he’d turn us around so fast and demand I go home. There’s no way he can know about the baby, or he will never let me continue.”
“I think you’re right Elise, you’re lucky he’s still young and hasn’t much experience in dealing with females, or I don’t know how you’d keep it from him. You can thank your husband for that. Rylan never was much with the ladies,” Drake chuckled amiably, while he helped Elise keep the fire going with a small breath or two.
Stepping into the clearing with Fynlaylyn in tow, Branadon boomed, “Well, well, well, I leave you in the safest place I could ever dream of, and do you think you could stay put till I return?” He just had time to drop his bedroll before catching Elise in his arms and swinging her around like a child.
Elise was beside herself. She covered his old craggy face with kisses. “You’re Okay! I’ve missed you so much!” Stepping back, she scolded, “You missed my wedding!”
Branadon had been her Champion since she was a baby. He was half Dwarf/half human, but you never, ever, said that to his face. He was taller than most Dwarves by at least a foot, had a plaited beard and carried “Skull Cleaver,” rumored to originally have been carried by Rhom the Conqueror.
“It’s just like old times!” Elise cried. “The three of us together again!” She added, turning to include Fynlaylyn, and smiling through her tears.
Hearing the commotion, Darion came through the nearby trees exclaiming, “What’s going on here? Oh, Branadon, we’d almost given up on you. Glad to see you! We can use all the help we can get. Talk some sense into this Elf and tell him that you and I would be a much better team than Elise and me.”
“Excuse me, but I could get deeply offended by that,” Elise stammered, still clinging to Branadon’s hand.
“I really don’t like taking you into this, Elise,” Darion tried to reason with her. “Branadon and I will do what needs doing. My father can take you back where it’s safe.”
“For the last time, Dragon, this is not my idea. I love the child as much as you do…” Fynlaylyn reprimanded. “Damn it! This is her destiny!”
Looking to Drake for help, all Elise received was a noncommittal shrug of his enormous black shoulders. She squeezed in between the three arguing and put herself in the middle of their conversation. “Gentlemen,” she said, “please, this is getting us nowhere. Darion, I am staying.
“Branadon, I’m so glad you’re here, and Fynlaylyn, I do not hold you responsible. I know you have always watched out for my wellbeing. I trust you. Now, I believe we were about to have lunch and I’m starved!”
Successfully squelching the argument, the men followed her to the fire and listened as Branadon explained what kept him away for so long. Then they in turn, told him what had happened since he’d been gone, and where they were headed now.
He had been close on the trail of Lord Slater, but the fiend, as always, was one step ahead of him. Fynlaylyn laughed at this, and Branadon found himself hard pressed not to take offence. Keeping in touch with only messages over the years had dampened his memory of how irritating the Elf could be.
“I almost caught up with Slater, but he gave me the slip. I was looking to pick up his trail again in this area. It doesn’t bode well that he seems to be headed in the exact same direction as you all are.
“When you were abducted by him in Arilonia I tried to find out any background about him, but it’s as though he just appeared out of nowhere one day.”
Elise was beginning to lose her appetite. Every time she thought she had seen the last of that man, he would turn up to plague her once again.
Chapter 5
Since they knew they were close to the armies gathered around the mountain, Drake carried Elise and the Elf, and Darion took Branadon. They landed outside the perimeter where Fynlaylyn knew they would encounter the first sentry. These days there was little to laugh about, so when Fynlaylyn explained to the guards at each checkpoint about his little surprise, everyone was looking forward to a bit of harmless fun.
The Dragons came as quite a shock to most, and word spread like wildfire. It was amazing to see that by the time they reached Faradon, Cameron and the rest, not even a hint could be seen on anyone’s face that anything was amiss.
Runners forged ahead and brought word of Fynlaylyn’s arrival with the Queen. When they entered the clearing with Branadon in tow, Faradon let out a horrific guffaw and called to the Elf, “Do you mean to tell me that all this time we’ve been waiting for this magnificent warrior to show up with the Queen, and she shows up with him!?!” Addressing Branadon with a laugh, “No offence dear cousin, but we held our expectations a wee bit higher!”
Branadon could not resist the comeback after his cousin’s unwitting setup, “Would this expectation be high enough for you then cousin?” And Branadon gestured behind the assembled commanders.
At that signal, Darion burst through the trees and leapt into the air blowing fire well above their heads. He normally did not like to be a showoff, but Elise agreed that Fynlaylyn earned a little payback from these unbelievers.
Branadon’s cousins fell to the earth and covered their heads, even Sir Cameron leapt beneath a wagon calling for archers. But soon the laughter drown out the racket coming from above.
Drake emerged, somewhat more dignified, into the clearing and went to stand behind the Queen.
Normally Branadon would not condone setting up superior officers to be laughed at by their troops, but this was just too priceless. These men had been facing death together for so long now, their officers held more than enough respect from the troops to stand a little ribbing.
As the men on the ground recovered themselves, Branadon strolled tauntingly over to his cousins, “I guess he is a little more magnificent than me after all?”
Brushing the dirt from his knees, Borris, Branadon’s youngest cousin, was first to regain his senses. “Hell cousin, you sure know how to make an entrance. How the devil did you ever tame the beast?”
Elise quickly stepped forward to answer that question before the Dragons could take offence, and was surprised to see the Dwarves and a few of the remaining men who had accompanied her mother home all those years before, drop down to one knee in awe as they paid homage.
Faradon whispered in wonder, “Tis like looking at a ghost, like Princess Natalia reborn.”
Cameron whispered back, “I’m beginning to believe the Elf’s crazy stories.”
“Excuse me gentlemen, but I can assure you I am not my mother. Please rise, I have always held a very informal court. You’re kneeling is making me uncomfortable.”
Shaken out of their amazement, the men stood, still staring until Fynlaylyn broke into the conversation.
“Gentlemen, may I present her Royal Highness, Queen Elise Alexandria Sharmain Duprane, Queen of Arilonia, Queen of Neglavale, finder of the Lost Crown, friend of the mighty Dragon who holds the Fire Within, and descendant of ‘Rhom the Conqueror’.”
Hearing Fynlaylyn’s description of her, and the tone he was using, almost made Elise
turn around to look for who the Elf was describing. She was never so royally announced in all her life, it made her very self-conscious of her travel worn appearance.
Sir Cameron was first to officially welcome her, and the others quickly followed suit.
Elise was distracted for a moment, but now brought the conversation back to Borris’ original question.
Darion had landed behind her and was conversing quietly with Drake in their own tongue, no doubt starting to work themselves up about being… ‘tamed’.
She needed to do some major damage control, and quickly, before those two hotheads really started to heat things up.
“Gentlemen, thank you, but the ones who really deserve your welcoming, if you can forgive Fynlaylyn’s little prank, are my very good friends. They played along purely as a favor, after they were assured how much you would appreciate the jest.”
Turning to the awaiting Dragons, she motioned them to come forward. Before the men could back away, she hastily added, “May I introduce Lord Drake, King of the Dragons of Neglavale, and his son Prince Darion. They hold my eternal respect and admiration for all they have done for me.”
Hearing the Queen address the Dragons as sentient beings, the men stepped forward one by one to bow and offer welcome to the awe-inspiring creatures.
Somewhat placated, Drake was first to address the astonished men. Just being in amongst the army started his tactical brain humming. Dismissing any more formality, he launched into the subject he was impatient to begin. “I noticed your sentries on the way in are mostly stationed…”
Elise turned away wanting to prolong this last peaceful evening for just a while longer.
Seeing her walk away, Darion was torn between really wanting to hear the strategies being bantered about by his father and the men, and knowing his friend needed him right now, just a little bit more.
Darion and Elise strolled together through the camp as men scurried everywhere, trying to get dinner over with and weapons sharpened, to be ready for whatever this night might bring. Not much happened during the day, for some reason the onslaughts were first thing in the morning or late in the evening. Every once in a while, something really horrific immerged from the gates and they needed to be prepared.